Lead Us into Temptation
by Aussiegirl41
Summary: Sharon is called into Rusty's school to explain just what the nature of her relationship with Andy is.


**Bit of fluff I wrote for the 'introductions' prompt at the mc_mothership community on LJ.**

"Let's get a warrant. I want his laptop, computer and cellphone," Sharon ordered sharply at the same time as her own cell buzzed. She drew it out of her pocket and frowned as the caller's name came up across the screen. "Thank you, Lieutenant Provenza," she murmured vaguely, sliding her finger across the screen to answer.

"Sharon? We have a slight problem at the school," the caller said after she announced herself.

"Problem? Rusty-"

"Is fine. But when I got here to pick him up, one of his teachers demanded I meet with him. A Mr Newton, I'm sure you know the name, and he seems to think I'm your..."

Andy Flynn hesitated so long she glanced at her cellphone, wondering if the connection was severed. Finally, however, he continued: "He thinks I'm your _partner_. I'm just calling to ask what you want me to tell him."

Her mouth had fallen open at the way he'd pronounced the word 'partner', but now she clamped it shut again with a snap.

"Hang on, Captain-"

She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear as Flynn talked to someone in the background. How on earth had one of Rusty's teachers got the impression she and Flynn were... She felt a flush spreading across her cheeks and self-consciously looked up. Yes, of course, Provenza was openly eavesdropping.

She waved her hand toward his desk phone impatiently.

"Captain?" Flynn was speaking to her again.

"Yes, I'm here." She twisted the cellphone to speak into it directly. "I had no idea... Rusty never mentioned any Mr Newton," she quietly admitted.

"Well, it gets worse. Your Children's Services Liaison has arrived. Our helpful Mr Newton got her number from the school file. She wants to talk to all of us."

"Cynthia?"

Provenza was finally picking up his phone. His attention hadn't wavered from her, however. "Warrant," she mouthed at him.

"I suppose we are waiting for this warrant," she said aloud to Flynn. She tugged back her jacket cuff and checked the time. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Once Sharon arrived at the school, she was directed to a classroom where five people waited. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the youngest. Automatically, she checked him for signs of injury. She wondered grimly when she would get out of that habit. Especially when the reality was his physical suffering was the least of their problems.

"Rusty?" she prompted in a low tone.

"Sharon!" He jumped up when he realized she'd arrived, his agitation obvious. "You didn't need to come."

She gave him an exasperated look and turned to greet the other occupants in the room.

Even though Lieutenant Flynn had shed his jacket and was only wearing his waistcoat, he still looked incredibly uncomfortable. He was sitting very straight in his chair, and she suddenly had a very clear picture of a young Andy waiting outside the principal's office. The thought made her smile a little.

He didn't return her smile, which perturbed her more than she cared to acknowledge. She'd thought he, and the rest of the squad, was starting to warm to her just a little. He called her Sharon so naturally now for starters.

Gratefully, the woman by his side did offer her a smile. In fact, rather than causing any anxiety as Andy had supposed, Cynthia being here bolstered her confidence somewhat.

Father Michael she'd met before. He didn't rise but nodded in her direction, his face that serene mask she found priests managed to pull off so well. It was that same look which had given her romantic ideals about becoming a nun when she was a teenager.

The other man in the room was tall and lean, in his mid-forties perhaps, and dressed in civilian clothes, though conservatively so.

"Mr Newton, I presume," she said, stepping forward and offering her hand, which he shook, ineffectually due to the angle of his grip.

"I told them you were busy!" Rusty burst out, demanding the whole room's attention.

"Well..." She grimaced and lowered herself into one of the green plastic student chairs Father Michael was gesturing toward. "I'm here now. Perhaps we can clear up why you had to call in me and Cynthia."

Automatically she crossed her ankles primly and tugged at the hem of her skirt to hide as much skin as possible. Of course, at her age she probably wasn't offering any temptation to even a celibate priest.

"We do understand that your situation as a carer is sensitive and... Unique."

She raised one eyebrow at Father Michael. Was he being patronizing? She glanced in Rusty's direction. He had flopped back into a plastic chair also, and was staring intently at the new scuff marks streaking his trainers.

Father Michael droned on: "I'm afraid, with placements such as yours, we expect all requests from the school to be followed up promptly. I know you have a demanding position at LAPD." There it was again, that slight lilt in his voice that could indicate disapproval, and yet not enough for her to be able to take him to task over it. "But I also wouldn't think we'd need to explain protocol to you."

Flynn snorted. "No, I think the Captain understands protocol."

Taking a deep breath she turned in Flynn's direction, trying not to take his comment as a personal insult - easier said than done.

Eventually she swallowed and looked away, deciding it was best to focus on the issue with the school before attempting to tackle her issues with Andy Flynn.

"I think, there has obviously been some sort of..." She glanced over at Rusty again. He had slumped even further into his chair. "Communication breakdown," she finished.

Mr Newton finally spoke. "I've sent home three written requests for a meeting with you, Mrs Raydor."

She blinked at the unusual title the teacher had used. She couldn't remember the last person who had called her 'Mrs'.

"A text or an email might have been more efficient," she commented with a fake smile. Father Michael should know he wasn't the only one who could use just a hint of a patronizing tone.

"When I had no reply, I thought I should ask your husband to come in and see us," Mr Newton offered, just silkily enough to make her skin crawl.

"You could ask," she drawled. "All male meetings are much more efficient , I know," she said, smoothing an imaginary crease from her skirt.

"Please, Captain Raydor. Let's just sort this out," Father Michael quickly injected when he at last picked up on her sarcastic tone.

"I can understand one letter being misplaced," Mr Newton complained, "but three-"

"Well, let me repeat, I'm here now," she said briskly, cutting him off. "Has Rusty been the victim of more bullying at St Joseph's, because if the school has such an ongoing problem with this type of behavior-"

"No, no." Father Michael waved his hand around. "We don't have a culture of bullying at St Joseph's. That was an extremely isolated incident."

She folded her hands into her lap. "Have Rusty's grades dropped?"

"No."

"So... This urgency to see me was for..."

Father Michael cleared his throat. "You and your partner..."

"Yes?" Sharon settled her gaze on Rusty. He was still avoiding looking at her directly.

"The letter I sent out was an introduction of sorts," Newton leaned forward in his seat to inform her. "I like to meet all my new parents, Mrs Raydor. This doesn't exclude you, even though you aren't Rusty's _real_mother. I feel it's very important to see what type of people the students' carers are."

She hummed, a sound that made Rusty and Flynn both jump.

"When you were unavailable, I spoke to Rusty about your husband, and that's when he informed me that Mr Flynn was a close-" Mr Newton paused for dramatic effect "-Personal friend of yours."

"It's Lieutenant Flynn to you," Andy growled.

Sharon flashed him a quick impatient look. "_Lieutenant_ Flynn and I work in Major Crimes Division together. Where he is my subordinate, ," she added. "It wouldn't be proper _protocol _to indulge in a relationship on a romantic level with a subordinate."

"I tried to explain you were simply my boss," he said with such unexpected harshness in his tone that she had to swallow hard and turn away, centering her attention again on Mr Newton.

"Rusty said that you and this-"

"Yes?" she prompted, hoping her intense gaze straight at him had something to do with the way he broke off from whatever it was he was going to say.

"Perhaps I got the wrong impression," he admitted slowly.

She noticed Rusty was now hiding his eyes under his thick fringe.

"Lieutenant Flynn, and all the other male members of my squad, have made it their duty to take on a paternal role in Rusty's life. Something I am very thankful for. Perhaps this is where the confusion has developed."

After merely observing all this time, Cynthia abruptly stood. "I think, Father Michael," she announced, "we should speak for a few minutes in your office."

"Yes," the priest agreed. "And Mr Newton, perhaps you could join us?"

After Cynthia and the two teachers said their goodbyes, Sharon jumped up to pace. Rusty and Lieutenant Flynn remained in their chairs, neither saying a word.

It was Rusty who eventually broke the silence. "If you're going to ground me or something, just do it!"

She stilled and crossed her arms. "Are you going to tell me why you wanted Mr Newton to think Lieutenant Flynn and I were an item?" she asked.

Rusty scuffed his feet along the vinyl flooring. Out of the corner of her eye, she was sure Andy was doing the same thing.

"Did you think at all how such a relationship would be viewed by the school? By my superiors at LAPD? By Children Services?"

She'd, however, thought about these things once or twice or a hundred times. She'd also thought she'd been very careful to keep her unexpected attraction to Andy Flynn under wraps. Surely Rusty couldn't suspect. Surely Andy couldn't! He must have just-

"Oh my God! Rusty!" She quickly sat down beside him and took his hand at the thought which had just occurred to her. He tried to pull away immediately, giving Andy an embarrassed look over his shoulder, but she held on tight. "Did this Mr Newton say something inappropriate? Did he-"

"No!"

"You can tell me-"

"No, honest! It's just..." He glanced over his shoulder to Flynn again. "I just didn't want you to meet him."

It was Andy who posed the next question. "Mr Newton? Why shouldn't Sharon meet your teachers?"

Rusty grunted, but made his confession: "Cause he's single, okay. And I thought..."

Sharon blinked. "You thought..." She took a deep breath. "Let me get this right. You thought Mr Newton would be so overcome when he met me that he'd want to ask me out on a date? Really, Rusty. He's at least twenty years younger than I am."

"No, I didn't think he'd ask you out on a date."

Her mouth pursed. No temptation for anyone, she reminded herself.

"I thought you'd... You know..."

No, she didn't know. She managed to catch Andy's eye over Rusty's head, but he shrugged unhelpfully.

"He's single and a teacher. You know, that's a good stable job, respectable, and I just... I figured you'd find him attractive, you know? And you might... Try to get him to like you."

Sharon's shoulders sagged. She supposed one of Rusty's teachers would have been a better prospect than some of the other men Sharon Beck had taken up with in her life.

"You think Sharon would do that?" Flynn barked out unexpectedly. "You think she'd embarrass you by chasing after one of your teachers in that way?"

Rusty leaned forward and picked up his backpack from the floor. "Can we just go now?"

Sharon was filling out the necessary reports when someone tapped on her open office door. She was surprised to look up to see Lieutenant Flynn, her teacup in his hand.

"I thought you might like this."

"Thank you," she said politely, rising quickly to take the tea from him. A task that proved to be more awkward than was comfortable. She tried not to blush when their fingers touched during the process.

"You need to get a smaller cup," he grumbled when they'd eventually managed to get it onto her desk.

She snatched up her box of tissues and offered him one.

"That scumbag's confession would have to be a record for Major Crimes, I think," he praised her and took the seat opposite hers.

"Yes. I just have to finish these reports and we're done."

"Great."

"Yes."

"So... About what they said at the school..."

She bit her bottom lip, feeling ridiculously tongue-tied.

"Yeah... We..."

Andy cleared his throat at the same time as she did.

"You're not gonna be too hard on Rusty, are you?" he asked eventually. "I mean, we can just imagine how his mother must've been around men."

"Yes. Oh, yes," she agreed, expelling a long shuddering sigh, as much from the fact that he'd changed the subject as from the image she had in her mind of Sharon Beck.

"I mean, you can see the type, right? Short skirt, high heels, too much makeup."

"Yes." She tugged at her own skirt and pressed her lips together. Too late, however. He'd probably already noted she'd just reapplied her lipstick. "Yes, I can see why he'd think I'd behave in a similar fashion."

"Well, I don't! You're a class act, Captain!"

She gasped at his outburst. "I was joking, Lieutenant," she finally admitted quietly.

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry."

"But it's nice of you to... Defend me."

"Well, yeah." He suddenly shot her a crooked smile. "You might show your legs, but never your belly button ring, right?"

She snorted. "No." She tilted her head to one side and grimaced. "I'm not really the body piercing type, you know."

Andy laughed and she found herself smiling broadly in return.

"I'm not sure why Rusty thought I'd be interested in Mr Newton anyway."

"He's young, he must have some level of intelligence to teach, he-"

"Automatically thought I was married and wanted to meet the man behind the little woman," she finished

Andy chuckled again. "Yeah, well, he made a bit of a mistake there, that's for sure."

She turned away from Andy's smiling face. She shouldn't have thought so much about temptation today. Now it was the only thing on her mind.

Through her office window she saw Rusty come out of the break room and point to his watch. She held up her hand, indicating she needed another five minutes. With a roll of his eyes, he spun around and stalked away.

"Mr Newton also insinuated I'm not Rusty's real mother," she said quietly.

"Hey." Andy reached out and rested his hand on hers for a brief moment. "I think we can agree the guy was an idiot."

She turned back to Andy, to maybe thank him, but promptly she forgot whatever it was she was going to say. His eyes held hers and for once she ignored that annoying voice in her head-the one always telling her to do the right thing. Her tongue flicked out and moistened her suddenly dry lips. Her heartbeat quickened when Andy's focus followed the action.

"I should..." She drew in a ragged breath and started her sentence again. "I should finish this report."

She never picked up her pen or bothered opening her laptop. He never made to leave her office. The five minutes she'd promised Rusty turned into ten at least.

She tried again: "I have to finish this report."

"Yeah."

Finally he broke eye contact and stood.

"Andy!" she called out before he left her office completely.

"Yeah?" he asked, half-turning.

She stood also, and joined him in the doorway. "I meant it. About you and the other squad members. It's wonderful to have such positive male role models for Rusty to look up to. Thank you."

Behind him, Lieutenant Provenza and Detective Sanchez approached her office.

"Positive male role models, huh? Even Provenza?" Andy teased once he was sure the other two were close enough to hear.

Sharon snorted. "Yes, even him," she said sincerely, finding herself reaching out to squeeze the older and gruffer man's arm.

Provenza looked down at where her hand rested, his expression one of apparent horror. "Stop it!" he growled. "Did you see that, Sanchez? That's sexual harassment from my superior!"

"You wish," Sanchez drawled, walking past them all and dumping the files in his arms on Sharon's desk.

She was groaning at the pile when Rusty appeared. "Can we go home now?" he whined. "Before I starve to death."

She hummed, a warmth spreading through her at the word 'home'. "Yes. Or we could order pizza and share it with everyone here," she suggested, surprising herself at the spontaneity of the idea.

"As long as we get two," Rusty said. "Lieutenant Flynn's idea of pizza toppings really sucks."

"Yes, it does," agreed Provenza. "Listen up, everyone! The Captain is buying us pizza!"

For once, she never bothered to argue with her second-in-charge.

She would talk to Rusty about school and any lies he'd been telling Mr Newton and his other teachers later.

She would think about Andy Flynn later. Or perhaps, better still, she would concentrate on trying not to think about him later.

The sound of laughter echoed throughout the squad room. Rusty was here with them, and safe - this was the most important thing.

She gave into temptation and decided to just enjoy the moment.

~The End~


End file.
